Discussion, Dialogue, or Deliberation

Problems and Purpose

The area of the old Farmer’s Market extends for more than 30 hectares to the north of the historical city of Bologna, and was abandoned after its activities moved to the Food Center.   

Problems and Purpose

After having adopted a landscape plan, including territorial safeguards, the Region of Tuscany intended to have a public debate with citizens and professional, scientific, and field experts before final approval of the plan, on the basis of their participatory laws (L.R.69/2007).

Abstract

The project “The Shop of the Future” was designed to create a public debate with citizens through participatory processes and dialogue.  The objective was to harvest ideas and proposals for improving quality of life, involving people from all social backgrounds. Thus the project was designed for citizens, city officials, and businesspeople. It took place in the municipality of Casamassima, a small city with 18,000 inhabitants in the province of Bari in Puglia. 

Overview

Participatory decentralization is the process of handing out legitimate political authority to the citizens. It contributes to democratization by bringing the government ‘closer to the people’, imparting the citizens with political knowledge through their participation in local management, and making the government more accountable. [1]